


I'll Be Worth Your Time

by ellipsometry



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Daichi is missing a tooth, M/M, that's the entire concept lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 17:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8854612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellipsometry/pseuds/ellipsometry
Summary: Oikawa never noticed before, but Daichi is definitely missing a tooth.
And not just, like, a wisdom tooth or a molar.  He’s missing a pretty prominent biter, on the left side of his mouth.  You can’t always see when he’s just talking or going about his normal business, but when he grins or laughs in the way he’s prone to do, it’s pretty damn obvious.  Oikawa had never noticed it before, and now it’s all that he can think about.





	

**Author's Note:**

> me: i love hq i can't wait to write fic!  
> me to me: write a self-indulgent rarepair fic

Oikawa never noticed before, but Daichi is definitely missing a tooth.

And not just, like, a wisdom tooth or a molar.  He’s missing a pretty prominent biter, on the left side of his mouth.  You can’t always see when he’s just talking or going about his normal business, but when he grins or laughs in the way he’s prone to do, it’s pretty damn obvious.  Oikawa had never noticed it before, and now it’s all that he can think about.

“Hey,” Oikawa advances on the former Karasuno captain during a water break, “Why don’t you get a replacement or something for that missing tooth of yours?”

Daichi laughs, and Oikawa thinks it must be on purpose because his eyes are immediately drawn to the strange black gap in the other boy’s smile, “Good to see you too, Oikawa.” 

Ever unperturbed, Oikawa just smiles, “No one told me you’d been recruited here too.” 

“Oh,” Daichi laughs again, “That’s because I wasn’t.” 

It had surprised about no one when Oikawa Tooru was scouted by a slew of universities following his final volleyball game as a high schooler.  Some were powerhouse schools, some were looking to rebuild their teams after years of harsh losses, some were middle-of-the-run colleges just throwing their hats in the ring.  Oikawa had decided on Tokai University for a number of reasons, one of them being that the former starting setter wasn’t returning, and the coach was eager for the former Seijou setter to fill that spot.

The rest of the roster was undeniably strong, though maybe a bit top-heavy when it came to offense.  Tokai had never really fallen from grace as far as performance went, but they could definitely be stronger.  Oikawa hoped that would be where he came in.

“... You’re here for the open tryouts?” Even with a fully-stacked roster of returners and students scouted straight out of high school, Tokai was still holding open tryouts.  It was one of the few large colleges to still do so, mostly out of tradition. Even though most of the players participating in the three-day open tryouts were hoping to be plucked out of obscurity, they were steadily falling behind against the serves, spikes, and sets of the already-established players.

Daichi, though, was holding his own.  And so, Oikawa had just assumed that Daichi was a recruit.

“Well, yeah,” Daichi rubs a hand on the back of his neck, “I did get an offer from Meiji, and a couple smaller colleges in Miyagi.”

Oikawa raises a slender eyebrow, “And you turned them down?” 

Another grin, “Stupid of me, right?  But here I am.”

“Yeah, you could say stupid.”  You _could_ say that, Oikawa thinks.  Not that he ever would.  Similarly, Oikawa would never say out loud that he thinks Daichi is making a pretty ballsy move, one that he hopes will pay off.

Instead, he just grabs a ball from the cart and tosses it at Daichi, who catches it easily with one hand, “Well, Gap Tooth, let’s see what you’ve got.”

 

+

 

Daichi doesn’t tell Oikawa this, but the missing tooth is from Karasuno’s Spring High match against Wakutani.  There’s really no reason to expect that Oikawa would have noticed it during their subsequent match with Aoba Johsai, and they haven’t really seen each other since then.  But now the setter seems oddly pre-occupied with the missing tooth, and it’s more amusing to Daichi than he cares to admit.

“Was it, like, lost in a bout of fisticuffs or something?” Oikawa hunts Daichi down again during their next water break.  Not that Daichi minds, considering Oikawa is the only familiar face in the bunch, “Did you make a move on some girl and get hustled by her boyfriend?  Did you fight for her honor?”

“Uh…”

“And someone said ‘let’s take this outside, pal,’” Oikawa continues, “ _Please_ tell me you walked back into the bar and said something cheesy like, ‘yeah, well you should see the other guy.’”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Daichi frowns, “And you have an overactive imagination.”

Oikawa whines, “I’m bored and curious, would it kill you to indulge me?”

“It might,” Daichi says, cupping his hand in his chin, “Kill me, I mean.”

“You are the worst.”

This might be the first time that Daichi has actually talked to Oikawa outside of their brief pre-game captain chats.  It almost startles him just how… _normal_ Oikawa is.  Or, rather, as normal as someone like Oikawa could ever be.  He’s quick-witted and talkative, getting along with the other players swimmingly, even though Daichi can see the initial misgivings written on their faces.  Oikawa has always struck an intimidating figure, something that can belie the fact that he’s a true team player at heart.

In the same way, playing with Oikawa is nothing like Daichi thought it would be.  There’s nothing awkward or forced about it; it’s not seductive or provocative in the way you might expect from a flashy player like Oikawa, either.

Playing with Kageyama had been one thing, but Oikawa was another matter entirely.  Daichi had sometimes thought that playing with Oikawa would be like drowning, being overwhelmed by speed and talent and strategy.  Or that it would be like being taken on a ride in a fast car, gripping the sides of the seat and holding on for dear life.

Rather, playing volleyball with Oikawa is like being reunited with a very, very old friend; someone you had forgotten about, but all of the sudden can’t imagine your life without.  His tosses feel eerily familiar, though there’s no reason they should be.  Comforting, in a way.  His instructions and encouragements are precise, tailored specifically for each player on the team.

“Sawamura,” he claps Daichi on the shoulder after they lose a practice rally, “Don’t look at me for so long before you do your approach, it lets them know you’re waiting to see what I’ll do.  Just jump and be ready to hit, I’ll make sure it gets to you.”

Daichi just nods, returning Oikawa’s small smile.   _How did he know that?_ How could he have seen, in the split second that he tossed the ball, Daichi’s eyes grazing over him before he took his right side approach?  Was Oikawa really _that_ well attuned to the tics of his spikers?  The thought kind of makes Daichi nervous, while simultaneously sending a shiver of excitement up his spine.

This feels right.  This feels like the kind of volleyball Daichi wants to play.

“Hey, Gap Tooth!  Congratulations!” Oikawa, of course, manages to find Daichi after the end of the day, after the Tokai coach had announced which of the open tryout attendees would be invited to return for the second day.  Daichi had made the cut, along with maybe a dozen other players.  Some of the other players give the him and Oikawa an odd look.  Daichi hopes the ‘Gap Tooth’ nickname doesn’t stick.

“Thanks, Oikawa,” Daichi say, eyeing where Oikawa has slung his arm over his shoulder, “I’ll have to do better tomorrow, though.”

“So diligent, aren’t you Sawamura-chan?” Oikawa digs his fingers into Daichi’s shoulder before retracting his arm, “So serious!”

“Someone has to be,” Daichi huffs, smiling, “Especially with you around.”

“Oh, Sawamura,” Oikawa sighs dreamily, “You should know better than most that I’m _always_ serious.”

And that’s.  Well, that’s pretty true.

“Any advice for me?” Daichi asks, “You’ve been practicing with the official roster for about a week now, right?”

Oikawa nods.  There’s still more than a month before classes start, but the volleyball team has already begun practicing, and will do so up until the season officially starts, with rest breaks here and there.

They’re outside the gym now, about to part way – Daichi for the train station and Oikawa for the bus stop.  The setter hums thoughtfully before shrugging and jogging off to the right, waving his good byes.

“Just try to keep the rest of your teeth in your mouth, Sawamura-chan!”

 

 +

 

This turns out to be helpful advice.

The second day of tryouts feels like ripping the band aid off after a long post-graduation break from volleyball.  Daichi keeps reminding himself to stop grinding his teeth, lest he lose any more of them.  When a particularly harsh spike ricochets off his arm into his nose, Daichi has to take a break until the bleeding stops.  Oikawa had been the one who tossed to the spiker, and he shoots Sawamura what looks like an apologetic wince.

As usual, Oikawa finds Daichi in between drills, “Is it broken?  Looks kind of broken.”

The bleeding has long since stopped, and Daichi rolls his eyes, “ _No_ , Oikawa, it’s not broken.”

“Because that would be a good addition for you, what with the missing tooth.  Very manly.”

Oikawa doesn’t mean to say it, but he says it anyway, and he looks a bit startled at himself.  It _is_ pretty manly, honestly.  The idea of strong, sturdy Sawamura Daichi, ready to take a punch or a volleyball to the face or whatever else the world can throw his way.  Missing tooth, broken nose?   _No problem._  He’d probably just wave it all off and return to business as usual, grinning and slapping his teammates on the back like nothing had even happened.

“... Earth to Oikawa?” Daichi is waving a hand in front of Oikawa’s face.  It’s rough and calloused, as anyone would expect from a seasoned volleyball players.  His hands are actually a bit on the small size for someone his height, but his fingers are stout and sturdy-looking; his fingernails are a bit long.  Oikawa imagines them clenched tight in Daichi’s fists, in preparation for a difficult receive, nails biting crescent moons into his palms.  He should be careful about that, Oikawa thinks.  He could end up scratching someone.

This thought more than the others finally snaps Oikawa out of his strange reverie, “You should trim your nails, Gap Tooth.  Unless you’re too manly to own a nail file.”  

With that, the setter turns on his heel and marches away, leaving a very confused Daichi in his wake.

 

+

 

The day only seems to get tougher and tougher for Sawamura Daichi.

He gets hard blocked three times in one practice set, misses a handful of feints even though he should have seen them coming, and gets knocked on his ass by the upperclassmen’s spikes more than he cares to admit.  His nose bleed has long stopped but he keeps checking it anyway, some kind of nervous paranoia, maybe.

When they break for lunch, Daichi grabs his bag and heads to the steps outside the gym, preparing to give himself a harsh pep talk.  After that, he’ll be fine.  He’ll be ready to go, ready to show them what he’s really capable of.

Instead, he’s interrupted by Oikawa, and manages to look like a lunatic, muttering to himself.

Except, Oikawa doesn’t actually laugh at him, or taunt him, or tease him.  The setter just claps him on the back reassuringly, crouching to sit on the steps next to him, and says, “If you’re going to give yourself a motivational speech, at least _try_ to be motivational.  Mumbling like that just sounds sad.”

Oh.   _He’s right_ , Daichi thinks.

“This team needs someone like me, who’s solid at defense,” Daichi blurts out.  That was his biggest rationale for trying out for Tokai’s team in particular, “I can help give this team a good foundation.”

Oikawa laughs, not unkindly, “There you go.  You’re not wrong, I guess,” then he sets about searching for something in backpack.  It’s a small pill bottle, and he unscrews the cap and dips out two large, white, circular pills, handing them over to a confused Daichi.

“And these are…”

“Caffeine pills!” Oikawa says, “You look like hell and I’m tired of having to see those dark circles every time I toss to you.”

Daichi nods, taking a swig of his water and downing the pills.  And then, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I just told you how terrible you looked.  Are you one of those people that’s into being insulted?” Oikawa shrugs, “Never would have pegged you for that type, Sawamura-chan!”

Daichi can tell that Oikawa’s just playing dumb.  Out of all of the other Tokai players and tryout attendees, it does make some sense that they would be drawn to each other, looking for a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.  But they had never been friends, just fellow captains.  Their respective teams weren’t rivals, per se, but still tied together in some way by fate.  There had always been a kind of mutual respect between him and Oikawa, or at least he liked to think there was.  He’d probably never know for sure; the two of them just weren’t the kind to vocalize that.

“What’ll you do if you don’t make the team?” Oikawa asks suddenly, cocking his head and leaning to look over at Daichi.  The spike pauses for a second, watching the way Oikawa’s bangs fall over his forehead, moist with sweat.

“I wonder,” Daichi says softly, genuinely curious, “I didn’t really think that far.”

“Huh?”

He grins, and Oikawa’s eyes once again go straight to the gap in his top line of teeth.  It makes Daichi, an otherwise fairly plain, sturdy-looking guy, look a bit reckless.

And maybe he really is – reckless, that is.  He seems to set his goals without ever making a contingency plan.  He’s very all-or-nothing.   _We’re going to beat Shiratorizawa.  We’re going to go to Nationals._ Oikawa supposes they’re alike in that way, always ready to put everything on the line if the situation calls for it.  No holding anything back.

“I should have planned to get a hotel or something nearby, though,” Daichi says, “Taking the train so early is a pain.”

“Hold on, hold on,” Oikawa holds his hands out in front of his chest, “You’ve seriously been taking the train from Miyagi this whole time?”  Daichi has a mouth full of food so he just nods, and Oikawa balks, “That’s more than _two hours_ one way!”

Daichi seems to think nothing of it, which would be just like him.  It’s just like those Karasuno guys, Oikawa thinks, to go farther, work harder, and be stupider than everyone else, even when no one is asking for it.  Frankly, it’s a little unseemly.

Equally as unseemly is the way Oikawa finds himself eyeing Daichi during their serve-receive drill, wondering what he looks like bleary-eyed at 4 o’clock in the morning, fresh from sleep.  Or when Oikawa sets to him three times in a row during a 3-on-3 match and their third teammate gives him a pointed look.  Or when Oikawa watches, with mild fury, the way that Daichi stretches out at the end of the day, carefully and deliberately, holding the stretch just a little bit longer than everyone else.

And then, as they're heading out for the day, “You can stay at my place tonight.”

“... Pardon?”

Oikawa hadn't meant to say it, but there it was anyway.  The idea of Sawamura, so dedicated and eager, taking a four-hour round trip each day just to make it to Tokyo was just a bit too much for him.

“It’s not _my_ place, per se.  I guess it kind of is,” Oikawa says, trying to explain away why the knowing smile on Daichi’s face is making his heart race, “It’s Iwa-chan’s cousin’s best friend’s place, but he's abroad in Spain this year so he said we could stay there, you know, instead of the dorms so, well I've already moved in, and Iwa-chan will too, soon.  You'll have to sleep on the couch but it's better than waking up at the ass crack of dawn, and I'm being very kind and generous here, let me just say.  So, if you make the team you’re going to owe me _majorly_ — actually, even if you don’t make the team you owe me, I’ve just decided—“

Daichi claps a hand over Oikawa’s mouth to save him from his own hapless ramblings.  Which, of course, works.  Except now Oikawa is thinking about Daichi’s hand, and how forceful it feels gripping his jaw.  He resists the childish urge to lick the hand, choosing instead to swat at Daichi’s arm until the hand retreats.

“God, okay, I get it,” Daichi is laughing, “I’ll owe you.  Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Oh,” Oikawa nods.  He doesn’t really have the capacity to feel embarrassed, but for some reason he feels his face flush.  He had been so concerned about coming across as _weird_ to Daichi-- why was that?  Why did he care at all?

“Except,” Daichi continues, packing up his stuff, “I’m still not sure why you’re being so nice.”

Oikawa dismisses this with a flick of his hand, “I’m always this kind.”

The way he says it reminds Daichi of another certain captain, and he snickers, “I severely doubt that,” he says, but he follows Oikawa toward the bus stop regardless.

 

+

 

**Oikawa [16:29]**  
so I'm letting a teammate crash at our place tonight  
it's karasunos former captain  
that's cool w you right? 

**Iwa-chan [16:31]**  
That's… random  
Didn't know he was going to Tokai. But yeah of course that's fine 

**Oikawa [16:32]**  
he's doing open tryouts  
he'll probably be the only guy who makes it thru

**Iwa-chan [16:32]**  
Interesting. Would've thought he’d be scouted  
He’s good, he'll be good on the team for you in particular

**Oikawa [16:40]  
** …… why

**Iwa-chan [16:41]**  
Because I'm not there to crack your skull when you do stupid shit Shittykawa  
And all these new guys don't know you yet and they won’t call you out because they’ll be too busy jizzing themselves at how good your tosses

**Oikawa [16:50]**  
iwa-chan…  
that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me

**Iwa-chan [16:55]  
** Shut up Shittykawa 

**Oikawa [16:55]  
** does your phone autocorrect my name to that or what?!! 

**Iwa-chan [16:56]  
** Yes

 

+

 

Daichi calls his mother to let her know he’s staying in Tokyo for the night, and then follows that up with a call to Sugawara.  Of the two of them, the latter is always the one who ends up more worried about Daichi.  Even Oikawa can tell, as the first phone call lasts about two minutes and the second goes on and on, with Daichi interjecting every few minutes.

“What’s your girlfriend so worried about?” Oikawa teases, gesturing at the phone.  Daichi’s lowered it from his face, letting it rest against his thigh.  The voice on the other end continues, not noticing that Daichi is no longer listening.

Daichi sighs, “It’s Suga.  First, he wanted to make fun of me for not planning ahead, then he wanted to give me a lecture about planning ahead, and now he’s warning me about fraternizing with strangers.  I think he just likes feeling like the responsible one for once,” another sigh, and then Daichi chucks the phone at Oikawa, who snatches it out of the air instinctively, “Calm him down will you?  I’m gonna grab something from the vending machine.”

With that Daichi is gone, and Oikawa looks down at the cell phone dubiously before bringing it up to his ear, “Hello, the one and only Oikawa Tooru-san speaking.”

Sugawara pauses in the middle of his sentence, and lets out an oddly hearty laugh, “Oh, man, okay.  Sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.  I thought Daichi was going home with some strange guy and that I’d have to defend his chastity.”

The way he says it makes Oikawa think that maybe he’s implying that Daichi is into men.  Or, maybe not.  Or maybe, yes?  He files the information away for later, wondering why it even matters to him in the first place.

“Nope, just me,” Oikawa purrs, “Though you still might have to protect his chastity.”

“Nah, at that point it’s just some regular teammate bonding,” Suga says cheekily, “Thank you for letting him stay with you, though.  I was getting tired of his whiny texts in the morning.”

“You’re just witnessing the usual kind benevolence of Oikawa-san.”

“Sure, sure,” Sugawara says dismissively, though there’s still a laugh in his voice.

Just like with Daichi, Oikawa has never really talked with Sugawara off the volleyball court.  Actually, Oikawa’s not sure he’s even spoken to Sugawara _on_ the volleyball court.  Still, the Karasuno/Seijou matches did breed an odd sort of familiarity between the two teams, so Oikawa doesn’t feel too strange asking, “Aren’t you worried Sawamura won’t make the team?  It seems a bit rash of him to do open tryouts if he got offers from other schools.  If you ask me.”

“Am I asking you?” Sugawara teases, “Ah, I mean, you guys would be lucky to have Daichi.  And he did originally get an offer from Chuo, so I’m not really worried.”

“... What?”

Chuo University.  Otherwise known as home to the reigning national champions in men’s college volleyball, heavily favored to repeat for the third year in a row.  That was the school where Ushiwaka had ended up, and their bench was so deep that even he was going to have to fight to make it to the starting lineup.  Chuo was the new powerhouse in volleyball.  Oikawa was positive they had never even glanced twice at him.

“Yeah,” Suga suddenly sounds a bit nervous, “I guess he’s still shy about talking about it, but yeah.  He could’ve been on their team, although it’s a bloodbath even to start in one of their practice matches.”

“And Sawamura… turned them down,” Oikawa’s voice is slow, like he’s trying to parse out a particularly tough riddle.

Suga hums affirmatively, “He took his sweet time making a decision, though.  But I think that Daichi is just too used to being the underdog.  He doesn’t know how else to function.”

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me--”

“A-Anyway, it sounds like Tokai is gonna be a good fit for him!” Sugawara interjects, realizing his mistake, “He was really pumped about the team, and it’ll be good for him to already have a friend there.”

Oikawa brings a hand to his temple, where he can already feel a headache forming, “Friend?”

“Yep,” Oikawa turns to see that Daichi is back from the vending machine.  He tosses the setter a water, and Oikawa nearly drops the phone trying to catch it, “We’re friends now so get used to it, since we’ll be teammates soon.”

Ordinarily, this would be where Oikawa would make a quip about over-confidence or something of the sort, but when he opens his mouth, nothing comes out.  Because Daichi has every reason to be confident.  He was scouted by the top volleyball team in the country, and chose instead to turn away and work his way up from the near bottom.  Oikawa is impressed and bitter and angry all at once.

At the moment, though, he’s mostly angry.

“I promise Sawamura will return from the clutches of the big city unharmed,” he deadpans into the phone, before pressing end and returning the phone to Daichi, who raises an eyebrow.

“Good talk?” he asks.

Oikawa shoves the bottle of water into his backpack, “The best.”

The ride home is silent.  The walk from the bus station to Oikawa’s apartment is awkward.  And the faux-politeness as they perfunctorily order takeout and eat in silence is nearly unbearable.

Finally, Daichi opens his mouth, “So, I don’t think I know you well enough yet to say this.  But what’s your problem?”

“Huh?” Oikawa is in the middle of chewing and he swallows hastily, “What’s _my_ problem?  What’s _your_ problem, Sawamura?”

Daichi frowns, “You’re the one who’s been weird ever since we left practice.”

“Not since then,” Oikawa stabs his chopsticks accusatorily at the spiker, “Only since I had an enlightening conversation with your Refreshing-kun.”

“Refresh— what did Suga say?” Oikawa thinks he sees a hint of panic cross Daichi’s face.

“Why the _fuck_ would you turn down Chuo?”

“I—“ Daichi bites the inside of his cheek, feeling defensive.  He hadn't really told many people about it, the fact that Chuo had invited him to join their team.  Suga, Asahi, his parents, that was about it.  He knew if he told the rest of his teammates, his friends, that they would be too excited, and he'd get caught up in the whole thing and forget what was really important to him.

“It wasn't for me,” is what Daichi settles on, “I watched a practice and it… well, it wasn't for me.”

Oikawa pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers, “What the hell is up with you.  Didn't you want to go to a champion school?  I know you're used to being the underdog but _jesus,_ Sawamura.”

“You could have gone to Shiratorizawa, couldn't you?” It's out of Daichi’s mouth before he can think better of it, and Oikawa stiffens, “You could have gone to a championship school.  But you chose Seijou instead.  Because it felt right.  Am I wrong?”

Well, in part.  Oikawa loathes to admit that he had turned Shiratorizawa down in part because of his desire to crush Ushijima, but Sawamura isn't wrong.  Aoba Johsai felt right.  It felt like the team he was supposed to lead.

When Daichi sees Oikawa pouting, he knows he's in the clear, “As for the open tryouts,” he continues, “I guess I really always have been a ‘path of most resistance’ kind of guy.”

He smiles at Oikawa, just enough so that the space where his missing tooth should be is visible.  Oikawa returns the smile with a lopsided grin of his own.

Finally, Oikawa sighs, snatching up a piece of Daichi’s sesame chicken, “You're a real fuckin’ piece of work, Gap Tooth.”

Daichi smiles wider.  He thinks the nickname might actually be growing on him.

 

+

 

It’s only once that Daichi sees Oikawa outside of a volleyball match, and it happens shortly after they graduate.

There’s a kind of unbearable melancholy in the air around this time of year - the goodbyes, the stress, the feeling that each decision you make will have reverberations through the rest of your life.  It’s bad enough to have no idea in which direction you’re supposed to go, but Daichi thinks it’s just as awful having multiple paths to choose from and still finding yourself paralyzed.

And paralyzed as he is mentally, Daichi finds himself physically restless, unable to sit still at home.  He finds himself window shopping aimlessly at the local mall.  This is where he spots Oikawa Tooru outside of his natural habitat for the first time.

Seeing Oikawa dressed in something other than a uniform or scrimmage jersey is odd to say the least.  He's also wearing glasses and a sweatshirt, though the weather has long turned warm.  The sleeves are shoved up around his elbows, his hands are shoved into the pockets of his jeans, and he's rocking back and forth on his heels. He's obviously waiting for something.  Or someone.

When Daichi spots him he stops, pausing outside a boutique shoe store and pretending to pursue the latest loafers in stock.  Oikawa is right outside a large department store, and after a minute or two, Daichi creeps a bit closer to where he’s standing, still out of sight due to the large decorative trees in the middle of the shopping center.  What compels him to do this rather than just, say, going up and greeting Oikawa, who’s to say.  Maybe it’s because it’s not only the first time he’s seen Oikawa outside the context of a volleyball match, but also the first time he’s seen him _alone_ , without his friends or teammates or fangirls.

Upon closer inspection, Oikawa is looking a bit haggard.  Or about has haggard as someone with Oikawa’s baseline attractiveness can look.  His hair is a bit frizzy and unkempt, like he’s just woken up, and his sweatshirt has several small holes in it that reveal he’s not wearing an undershirt.  Now that he’s within earshot, Daichi can hear Oikawa muttering under his breath.

“Fucking disaster,” he says, out loud to himself, and a pair of girls walking past him toward the department store turn their heads toward him.

“Excuse me?”

“Uh, um,” Oikawa twitches, clearly not realizing he’s been talking out loud, and brings a hand up to his ear, “Bluetooth, don’t worry about it.  I’d never say that to such lovely ladies.”  He follows up his obvious lie with a wink, and the girls roll their eyes and move along.

Daichi stifles a laugh.  Never before has he seen girls fail to fall prey to Oikawa’s charms.  And never before has he seen Oikawa so vulnerable and caught off guard.  Its oddly charming.

Eventually Oikawa pulls out his phone and appears to be texting someone furiously, and although Daichi considers going up to say hello, he just slinks off instead, chuckling to himself.

He never did find out what Oikawa was waiting for.

 

 +

 

This is what Daichi thinks about the morning he wakes up on Oikawa’s couch.

“Good morning sleepyhead!” Oikawa pushes a cup of tea toward Daichi as the latter ambles toward the kitchen, “Thought you were an early riser.”

“So did I,” Daichi marvels at Oikawa, already coiffed and dressed and ready to start the day.  Nary a hair is out of place, “Why are you up so early?”

The sun is still a mellow flaxen coming in through the blinds, “You know, you sleepwalk,” Oikawa says in lieu of an answer, taking a pointed sip of his own tea.

“I do?  Since when?!”

“I don’t know, I’m not your mother!  You were sleepwalking last night is all I know,” for some reason Oikawa looks vaguely embarrassed, and he’s covering half of his face with his mug.

Daichi sighs, rubbing a hand down his face, “Sorry about that.  And thank you for not waking me up, apparently you’re not supposed to wake sleepwalkers up.”

“Why not?”

A shrug, “Because it’s scary for them if you do, I guess.”

“Well it was scary for me!” Oikawa whines, slamming a hand down on the kitchen counter.  When this does nothing but make Daichi laugh, Oikawa’s face goes red, “Whatever, just hope I don’t blackmail you for doing weird things in the middle of the night.”

“Wait…” Daichi pauses, “I didn’t do anything weird did I?”

“Nope,” Oikawa responds quickly, turning around and busying himself with something in the fridge, “Now, go get ready Gap Tooth.”

Daichi goes to mention that they have more than an hour before they have to catch the bus, but he thinks better of it, “It’s alright if I grab a shower?”

“Yeah, first door on the left.  You can use the blue towel.”

“And,” Daichi clears his throat, “You’re sure I didn’t do anything weird when I was sleepwalking?”

“Nothing weird at all.”

 

+

 

Daichi definitely _did_ do something weird while he was sleepwalking.  Not that Oikawa was planning on telling him about it, not now or ever.  In fact, Oikawa was perfectly fine keeping the whole incident to himself and not even mentioning it.  But the urge to tease Daichi about it was too strong, and now it was all coming back to bite him in the ass.  Because now he can’t _stop_ thinking about it.

In retrospect, the situation wasn’t, for the most part, that unusual.  Oikawa had stumbled out of bed in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, washed his hands, splashed water on his face.  And then he had been greeted outside the door by the still-slumbering figure of Sawamura Daichi.

“Jesus, fuck—“

Sawamura was just standing there, and Oikawa had moved to just leave him to his sleepwalking business when the spiker had reached out and snatched Oikawa’s wrist, pinning it against the bathroom’s door frame.  Oikawa barely had time to squeak out in indignation before Daichi’s other hand had come up to his face, cupping Oikawa’s cheek with an uncanny gentleness.

Oikawa had frozen, paralyzed by… well, he wasn’t quite sure what.  Fear?  Confusion?  Desire?  This was all strange and unfamiliar territory; _Daichi_ was strange and unfamiliar territory.

For one terrifying, brilliant second Oikawa thought that Daichi is going to kiss him.  His eyes were still closed – of course they were, he was fucking _asleep_ – but his lips were parted slightly, and they looked pillow-soft and inviting in the thin light of near-dawn.

But Daichi hadn’t kissed him.  Oikawa had simply choked out an embarrassed noise, and in the next second the other boy had released his hand, making his way back toward the couch like nothing had even happened.

Oikawa, on the other hand, had stood there in shock for about fifteen minutes before returning to bed and staring at his ceiling until the sun rose.

“What the fuck… is wrong with him?”

“You good?”

An upperclassman, one of the middle blockers, is looking down at Oikawa with concerned eyes, and the setter nearly swallows his tongue when he realizes he had said that out loud, “Good— I’m good!” He chokes out.

His senpai, luckily, doesn’t press, just laughs.  They’re running a blocking drill, and their group has just rotated out, catching their breath and observing the others.  Daichi is one of only three open tryout players remaining – the rest had been sent home at lunch.

“He’s definitely something,” the upperclassman says.

“Sure is,” Oikawa responds without thinking, “Wait, who are you talking about?”

A laugh, “Your friend, obviously.  He’s been picking up those feints like it’s no big deal.”

_We’re not friends_ –  what Oikawa almost goes to say, but that’s not strictly true.  They’re certainly about to be teammates, so why not friends as well?  They can’t stay forever in the liminal space between between rivalry and acquaintance, friendship and – at least on Oikawa’s part – a kind of odd fixation.

“Yeah, he’s…” Oikawa searches for the words, but nothing is really coming to mind.  He watches Daichi effortlessly save a block rebound and the only thing he can say is, “Well, he’s missing a tooth.”

 

+

 

Daichi makes the team.  It’s an anticlimactic affair, with the coach simply pulling the other open tryout players to the side and dismissing them.  Daichi is the last man standing, and coach only gives him a brief ‘welcome to the team’ before he’s laying out their practice schedule for the next four weeks.  They’ve got tomorrow and the weekend to rest, and then it’s right back to work on Monday.

His new teammates are clapping him on the back and eagerly welcoming him to the team, but Daichi still finds himself scanning the gym for Oikawa.  Strange, how that happens.  When you don’t realize how attached you’ve become to someone until you look over and they’re no longer there.

In the end, he waits outside the gym until a quarter after, when Oikawa finally emerges, hair still damp from a shower and falling haphazardly across his forehead.  Daichi wishes he could say it looked unattractive, but of course it’s not.

“What’re you still doing here?” Oikawa looks genuinely surprised, a new look for him as far as Daichi is concerned.

He grins, and can’t help but notice Oikawa’s eyes zeroing in on the gap in his teeth, “Waiting for you, obviously.  You sure know how to keep a man waiting.”

“But…” Oikawa makes a face like he’s doing some mental math, “Oh.  You left some stuff at the apartment.”  He looks… disappointed, somehow.

But truthfully, it’s not that at all.  Daichi takes a deep breath, face going pink, “Uh, actually I forgot about that.  I just wanted to see if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat.  Y’know as a celebration?” His eyes dart around, focusing on anything that isn’t Oikawa.

It must be the fact that Daichi looks sheepish for once that makes Oikawa grin, wolfish, “You’ve got all these new teammates and you decided to ask _just me_ to celebrate?  I must be something special, huh?”

To Oikawa’s surprise, Daichi just smiles, “You already know that, jackass.”

Huh.   _Well_ , Oikawa thinks _, this certainly is a new feeling._

“I’m honored, Gap Tooth,” he slinks his arm through the crook of Daichi’s elbow and they head toward the bus stop, “Although I’ll only go with you on one condition.”

“Shoot.”

“You have to tell me how you lost the tooth.  Inquiring minds want to know.”

Daichi laughs, loud and deep, “No way.  This is the only mysterious thing about me!”

“You’re no fun,” Oikawa pouts, “If you tell me, I’ll tell you about the embarrassing thing you did last night!

“What?!” Daichi shoves a snickering Oikawa with his shoulder, “You said I didn’t do anything weird!”

Oikawa reaches a hand up to pinch Daichi’s cheek, “So innocent Sawamura-chan.  I lied, of course!”

“You’re the worst,” Daichi says, though there’s no venom behind it, “I’m rescinding my dinner invitation, effective immediately.”

“Fine, fine.  I don’t wanna go anywhere with you anyway.”

That’s what they say.  In reality, they keep walking toward the bus stop, close enough that their shoulders brush.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on tumblr (hotelscalifornia.tumblr.com) or on twitter (@isthiswinnie) if u please


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